Police say they have evidence to explain shooting

Staff reports

Updated 10:40 am, Saturday, December 15, 2012

NEWTOWN -- Investigators have found evidence they believe sheds light on how Adam Lanza planned his murderous shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School and why he gunned down 26 students and staffers, police said Saturday morning.

State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance also said the assailant "forcibly entered" the school Friday morning.

A full list of the victims of the shooting will be forthcoming later today, Vance said. The state Medical Examiner's Office continues to conduct examinations of the victims, he said.

In a brief news conference, Vance said investigators still are not ready to disclose many of the details of their probe. He said no other arrests associated with the investigation have been made.

Vance said that response teams also forcibly entered the school Friday in response to emergency calls.

In response to a reporter's question about whether the shooter had left a note, Vance said that searches at the home of Lanza and his mother, who was fatally shot in the spree, "did produce some very good evidence we can use ... hopefully it will paint a complete picture."

When asked where the bodies of the victims are, Vance declined to comment.

He said the "minute" the medical examiner completes work, a list of the victims will be released.

Vance said investigators will continue examining the scene of the shooting throughout the weekend and need to analyze the exterior of the building and vehicles in the school parking lot as well.

Vance asked that the privacy of the victim's families be respected, saying that a state trooper has been assigned to each family to help protect them from intrusive inquiries.

The news media from across the country and around the world has descended on this quiet 300-year-old community of stately homes, church spires and a towering iconic flagpole in the town center.

Now Newtown is worldwide news, but not the kind of news any community wants.

It will forever be remembered as the town where the nation's second-worst school shooting occurred.

And coming just 11 days before Christmas and on the sixth day of Hanukkah, the tragedy ripped through the hearts of its 27,000 residents.

Grief counselors provided by Danbury Hospital, members of the FBI Crisis Management team, area priests, rabbis and ministers flooded the town. Some were turned away from the school.

By 6 p.m. Friday, hundreds of townspeople, including parents like Lilia and Vinny Alvarez and David Connors, sought comfort and flocked to St. Rose of Lima Church where a Catholic Mass was being offered and where 26 candles -- one for each victim -- brightly lit the altar.

The Alvarezes walked solemnly inside. They were there to thank God that their Cynthia, an 8-year-old Sandy Hook third-grader, was safe, although traumatized after hearing gunshots. They heard Monsignor Robert Weiss urge attendees to gaze at the night sky and see how much brighter it appeared.

"There are 26 new stars," he said.

Outside even the church grounds were brighter, lit by dozen of candles set up in a shrine.

There, nearly a thousand people walked aimlessly, asking questions and hoping for answers.

Kate Twohy, 75, was telling anyone who would listen that "violence like this has a seed and that seed is planted by the media and video games ... It's almost like spoon-feeding them pablum and oatmeal."

She circulated a petition calling for an end to violence and violent games and violent shows. Nearby, a group held hands and sang "Silent Night."

Lilia Alvarez called her daughter's teacher, who she knew only as Ms. Martin, "a true hero."

"When she heard the commotion, she locked the door, told all the kids to get in the corner, duck down and stay there," Alvarez said.

Martin wasn't the only hero.

Others said Carol Wexler and Abby Clements, two second-grade teachers, herded their children into closets. Clements even grabbed students from the hallways, pulled them into her room and locked the door.

Connors, whose triplets attend the school, praised the administrator who turned on the intercom, plugging all the classrooms into the impending horror and providing teachers a quick chance to take action.

"That probably saved a lot of lives," he said.

The Alvarez family also thanked God.

"God protected my child. I am here to thank him that I am able to hug her tonight," Lilia said. "I am also here to pray for a lot of others parents who won't be able to hug their children."